Exploring the Tide Zones of
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
How to Use This Guide
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•
•
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Study the map of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve on page 2.
Read the descriptions in this guide and study the diagrams and photos before you
arrive at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.
Make sure your visit to the reserve will take advantage of a tide lower than 1.0 feet.
You can find information about how to plan your visit on the Friends of Fitzgerald
Marine Reserve website at http://www.fitzgeraldreserve.org.
You may want to print all or part of this guide and bring it with you.
What’s in This Guide
Map of Tide Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Tides and Tide Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Geologic Forces Created the Tide Pools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Intertidal Ecology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Periwinkle, Fingered Limpet, Acorn Barnacle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Zone 1: The Splash Zone
Zone 2: The High Tide Zone Black Turban Snail, Hermit Crab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Zone 3: The Mid Tide Zone Aggregating Sea Anemone, Sculpin,
Sea Sacs, California Mussel, Ochre Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Zone 4: The Low Tide Zone Giant Green Anemone, Red Abalone,
Sea Urchin, Kelp Crab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Birds, Predatory Mammals, Harbor Seals, Red Octopus . . 11
Knowing No Bounds
Other Common Organisms Iridescent Algae, Bull Whip Kelp, By-the-Wind Sailors,
Mossy Chiton, Coraline Algae, Brown Pelican, Sea Palm . 13
More to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Lessons in Conservation and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Marine Protected Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Map of Tide Zones
N
ZONE 1: The
Splash Zone
Parts of Zone 1 may only be
submerged for a few hours on
a few days each month.
ZONE 2: The
High Tide Zone
KELP
COVE
The high tide always reaches
high enough to cover Zone 2, if
only for a short period each day.
SAN VICENTE CREEK
ZONE 3: The
Mid Tide Zone
B
SU
L
DA
-TI
LA
GO
ON
The Sub-Tidal Zone
Always submerged in
50-56° F water.
These tidepools are less exposed
than those in Zone 2, and a thick
growth of algae provides a damp,
cool cover for more animals.
ZONE 4: The
Low Tide Zone
Tidepools in Zone 4 are only
revealed for a few hours on a
few days of each month.
CYPRESS POINT
SEAL
COVE
SEAL
COVE
STAIRS
WWII
FLAG
SUPPORT
2
Tides and Tide Zones
Every day, twice a day, the cool waters of the Pacific ocean rise to cover the rocky reef of Fitzgerald
Marine Reserve. The height of the tide depends on the alignment of the moon and sun. On some
cycles even the highest tide does not cover all the sand of the reserve’s beach; on other cycles waves
crash against the cliffs that back the beach.
As soon as the water reaches its highest height, it begins draining away, until it reaches a low point
known as low tide. Then the tide begins to rise again. This cycle happens twice each day, about
twelve hours apart, as the earth rotates through the high tide bulges and low tide depressions created
by the pull of the moon’s gravity, as shown in the following figures. (The sun’s lesser effect is
ignored in these diagrams for the sake of simplicity and the figures are not drawn to scale.)
MOON
MOON
HIGHER
HIGH TIDE
BULGE
GRAVITATIONAL
PULL
OCEAN
OCEAN
EARTH
FIG 1: The pull of the moon’s
gravity on the ocean is the main
force driving the cycle of tides.
At right is a representation of a
tide table for one day. 0 represents
the “still water level,” or the
“mean sea level.” At Fitzgerald
Marine Reserve, tides can vary
from a high tide of almost +7 feet
(reaching into The Splash Zone) to a
low tide of almost –2 feet (revealing
the Low Tide Zone). The Fitzgerald
reefs are accessible for exploring
during low tides of 1.0 foot or
below. In this example, there is a
high tide of +6 feet at 11:30 a.m.
and a low tide of -1.0 at 5:30 p.m.
LOWER
HIGH TIDE
BULGE
LOW TIDE
DEPRESSIONS
EARTH
FIG 2: The moon and other forces
create two bulges in the ocean
that FMR experiences as Higher
High Tide and Lower High Tide.
As the earth rotates, FMR moves
through these bulges approximately 12 hours apart.
12 am
+7
+5
12 pm
FIG 3: FMR experiences the tidal
depressions as Lower Low Tide and
Higher Low Tide.
12 am
Splash Zone
High Tide Zone
Mid Tide Zone
0
-2
Low Tide Zone
3
Geologic Forces Created the Tidepools
When you step out onto the reef at the reserve, the gray and brown rocks beneath your feet are part of
what geologists call the Purisima Formation. The beds of rock tilt gently towards deeper water. This
rock was laid down in flat layers at the bottom of the sea between 7 million and 3 million years ago.
In some places you can find fossils of animals that died while the rock was being formed, including
sea shells, impressions of fish, and bones from an extinct manatee and whales.
After the sediment hardened into rock, the layers were squeezed, bent, and lifted up from the bottom
of the ocean during earthquake activity. (Several large cracks in the earth called geological faults, all
part of the greater San Andreas fault system, run through the reserve and out into the ocean.)
When the rocks rose above the surface of the
ocean, the waves began wearing them away
through erosion. As the water surges up and
down with the tide, it carries sand and small
pebbles that scour the reef, and may even
bounce boulders and logs across the rocks in
stormy conditions. The rock is siltstone, which
usually is soft and crumbles easily, although
in some spots the rock is harder or better
protected from the waves.
The least eroded areas form the Splash Zone:
the beach, the rocks right along its edge, and
the lower reaches of the cliffs. Animals that
live here are under water for the least amount
of time. Some may only be submerged for a
few hours every month.
Surge channel
High tide zone
A little farther into the tidepools are places
where waves have rounded but not worn
away big bulges of rock or the high edges
of tilted slabs. These higher spots stick out
above the surrounding reef and form the High
Tide Zone. Animals that live here are able to
withstand long periods of being exposed to
the air.
Farther out still is the Mid Tide Zone, where
rock was very hard or well-protected, and
the carving waves only wore away shallow
depressions. Animals that live here can cope
with being uncovered by water for a short
time.
Farthest from the cliffs, and in some closer spots where layers of rock were softer, the waves wore
away more material. The resulting long, deep cracks and deep holes from which water rarely drains
away are part of the Low Tide Zone. Animals that live here need to be covered by water most of the
time.
Different animals and algae have adapted to the fluctuating conditions these wave-carved zones
offer, and have turned these tidepools and surge channels into their homes. The map on Page 2 and
the descriptions that follow will help you explore each of these zones and meet a few organisms
specially adapted to live in each.
4
Intertidal Ecology
Ecology is the study of the relationships between living things and their surroundings. At low tide, the tidepools
of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve provide us with a remarkable place to study the organisms that live there.
Hundreds of species of animals and algae live on the reef. This guide concentrates on just a few organisms to
help you get started learning about intertidal ecology. Descriptions of these organisms highlight the biological
adaptations that plants and animals have evolved to survive in the intertidal environment.
An adaptation is a physiological or behavioral trait that an organism has evolved that works well in a specific
environment. In this guide you will learn about adaptations that let certain animals survive the changing
moisture, temperature, salinity, oxygen, and sunlight conditions of the intertidal environment as the tide rises and
falls at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.
This guide will let you explore the intertidal environment one zone at a time, meet a few inhabitants of each
zone, and learn what adaptations make them uniquely able to survive.
Zone 1: The Splash Zone
Zone 1 is also called The Splash Zone because
during many high tide cycles it is not actually
submerged—just a little sea water splashes up into
some parts of the zone, which can be exposed to the
air more than 75% of the time. It is only completely
submerged a few days each month, and even then
for a very short time.
Life in the uppermost tide zone is tolerant of
temperature changes that can range 30° F in one day,
and moisture that ranges from complete submersion
map symbol
for a few hours to days of desiccation.
Animals can hide part of the time, cling
tightly to the rocks, or enclose themselves in a
parcel of water to keep their gills moist. Seaweeds
here often have either a very sticky surface or a very
wiry texture, adaptations that help them retain water
between high tides.
These extreme challenges mean that there are not
very many organisms adapted to live in the Splash
Zone.
PERIWINKLE
Littorina littorea
The periwinkle snail is a mollusk
that thrives in The Splash Zone. Its
thick shell protects it from drying out
and getting too hot, and is difficult
for predators like birds to break into.
The periwinkle lowers its metabolism
to conserve oxygen when it is not
covered with seawater. It attaches
itself to a crack in the rock that retains
moisture when the tide goes out. The
periwinkle could survive in the lower
tide zones, but other snails that live
there out-compete it for food and
other resources. Those same snails are
not well-adapted to the long periods
of dryness experienced in The Splash
Zone, so they do not pose a challenge
to periwinkles in Zone 1.
5
FINGERED LIMPET
Lottia digitalis
Limpets are mollusks with cone-shaped shells.
You will find the Fingered Limpet, which has
a light brown and white mottled shell with
prominent ridges, in The Splash Zone. When
covered by a high tide, the inch-long limpet
lifts its shell and moves around to find food.
The Fingered Limpet scrapes microscopic algae
and freshly settled barnacles from the rock in a
territory about a meter square. Another species
of limpet, Lottia scabra, returns to a spot on
the rock where it has made a slight depression
or “home scar” that exactly matches the outline
of its shell at low tide. It clamps the shell
down tight against the rock, sealing water
underneath, an adaptation which allows it to
stay cool and breathe during low tide. Here
in the Splash Zone you may find groups of
limpets clustered together along a crack in
the rock that retains moisture at low tide, or
in cool, shady areas created by depressions in
the rock. Other species of limpets are found
in the lower tide zones.
Barnacle, left and Limpet
ACORN BARNACLE
Balanus glandula
Although the 3/4-inch acorn barnacle’s cone-shaped shell
attached to the rock looks like a small white or light gray
limpet, the animal inside is a crustacean, a family of animals
that includes shrimp and crabs. A baby barnacle floats in the
water as plankton. When it senses chemicals indicating that
it is near a rock where other acorn barnacles live, it glues
its head to that rock with glue that is twice as strong as any
glue made by man. It then builds a cone-shaped fortress of
limestone around its body, with a trap door in the ceiling. The
trap door opens when the tide comes in, so the barnacle can
feed on floating microscopic plants and animals that it kicks
into its mouth with feathery legs. The trap door closes tightly
during low tide to keep
water trapped inside. Acorn
barnacles can survive by
feeding just a few hours a
month during the brief time
they are covered with very
high tides. You’ll find other
species of barnacles in the
lower zones.
6
Zone 2: The High Tide Zone
map symbol
Zone 2 is also called the High Tide Zone. This area is covered
by most high tides, but may be exposed for 35-75% of the
time. Animals living here must tolerate long periods of drying
out and temperatures that are much colder or hotter than the
Pacific water, which here usually ranges from 50-56º F. Birds
and land-based predators such as raccoons pose a hazard for
the exposed reef organisms during low tides.
The incoming tide brings in food and oxygen, but in stormy
weather it also may carry rocks and sticks that bang against
organisms, threatening to crush or dislodge them. Although in
some ways life is a little easier than in the Splash Zone, there
are not many animals well-adapted to the High Tide Zone.
BLACK TURBAN SNAIL
Chlorostoma (Tegula) funebralis
The most common gastropod in the intertidal
regions is the black turban snail.
The shell is black or dark purple but
silver or white may show through
where it has worn down, and the
muscular foot is black on the sides.
It moves slowly on its foot, but if
it’s attached to a sloping rock, it can
move quickly — to elude a hunting bird, octopus,
or sea star, for example — by detaching and rolling
down the slope. The snail can quickly withdraw
into its shell, closing behind it a horny protective “door”
called an operculum, sealing in water to survive low tide.
You can find its cousin, the brown turban snail, in the
lower tide zones, but you won’t find brown and black
turban snails mingling together because of their habitat
preferences.
HERMIT CRAB
Pagurus samuelis
If, all of a sudden, one of those turban shells runs off
with a wobbling gait, it is not a snail at all, but a crab
that has taken over an empty snail shell. Under water,
the hermit crab’s long antennae stick out, and the head
and pinchers are visible as it moves about. Hermit crabs are very active, and
can move from dry areas into tidepools as needed to cool themselves down,
obtain oxygen, and scavenge food. When disturbed, the crab withdraws into
the adopted snail shell, and you may see the crab’s pinchers covering the
opening much as the original snail inhabitant once used the operculum to
close the opening. The hermit crab needs a supply of ever-larger empty snail
shells to move into as it grows.
7
Zone 3: The Mid Tide Zone
map symbol
Zone 3, also known as the
Mid Tide Zone, is covered by
all high tides and uncovered
by most low tides, so is
only exposed 7-35% of the
time. Dense algal growth
provides ample cover for a
variety of animals. Facing
fewer extreme environmental
challenges, more organisms
live in the Mid Tide Zone than
in the higher zones.
AGGREGATING SEA ANEMONE
Anthopleura elegantissima
Anemones are relatives of corals and
jellies. Anemones are round, with a
mouth in the middle surrounded by
feeding tentacles that both sting and
hold small fish, tiny crustaceans, and
anything that touches them. At low
tide these anemones pull
in their tentacles and
become a lump covered
with bits of sand, shell,
and rock. These objects
probably reflect light to
keep the anemone cooler
and reduce water loss. The
anemone’s body can be
up to 80 percent water; if
you touch it, it will squirt
the water out — probably
a defensive measure to
Right: Anemones at low tide, no water in the
startle away a predator.
tidepool, the anemones are covered with sand,
But if it squirts out too
shell and rock; above, the tide has come in
much water, it may not
and the anemones open.
survive to the next high
tide, so PLEASE DON’T POKE
THE ANEMONES!
8
SCULPIN
Oligocottus maculosus.
The sculpin is the most common tidepool fish. Its home is small, so this
fish is small—about 1 to 5 inches long, with a large head and pectoral
fins. It has large gills to let it extract the maximum amount of oxygen
from a tidepool as the water warms and becomes oxygen depleted
during low tides. The large pectoral fins enable the fish to make quick
movements when darting to and
from protected spots in the tidepool.
Camouflage lets this fish blend into
the background so well you may
only spot it when it moves. It feeds
on small crabs and shrimp, as well
as smaller fish and fish eggs.
SEA SACS
Halosaccion glandiforme
This hollow-bodied alga keeps
itself filled with water so it
doesn’t dry out during low tides.
Look closely to see a bubble of
air at the top of the sac. This alga
proliferates during the summer
months, but winter visitors may
not see this annual at all.
CALIFORNIA MUSSEL
Mytilus californianus
As you walk out on the reef south of Cypress
Point, the tough blue-black shells seen on
the surf-swept top of the reef are California
mussels. These clam-like animals attach
themselves to the rock by strong threads
called the byssus. They typically grow
close together in large numbers, forming a
mussel bed. They open their shells to extract
nutrients and oxygen from the water during
high tide. As the tide drops, they clamp their
shells closed, trapping water inside to help
them survive low tide.
California mussels with ochre star at upper right
9
OCHRE STAR
Pisaster ochraceus
Clustered together in crevices or singly in the mussel beds, where
it feeds on mussels and barnacles, the ochre star is the most
common star in the reserve. Most are purple or orange and have
five rays (or arms), but occasionally one may be seen with a ray
missing or partially grown back. Regeneration of rays, lost by
accident, is a common phenomenon among sea stars. Carnivores,
ochre stars are at the top of the food chain, as only rarely does
anything feed on them. They have an elaborate system of tube feet
that work like suction cups, driven by an internal hydraulic system
filled with sea water, which is called a water vascular system.
Zone 4: The Low Tide Zone
map symbol
Zone 4, the Low Tide Zone, is only exposed for about 7% of the time, when the tide falls
below zero. Here are some animals you may find if the tide is low enough during your visit.
GIANT GREEN ANEMONE
Anthopleura xanthogrammica
This large, solitary anemone may
reach a size eight inches across,
and such a large anemone might
be 75 years old. Like its relative
the aggregating sea anemone,
which inhabits the High Tide Zone, the giant green
anemone’s tissues need a lot of water. Also like the
smaller anemone, the giant green anemone pulls in
its stinging tentacles and folds in on itself to conserve
water during low tides. As with its smaller relative, if you touch
it, it will squirt water — probably a defensive measure to startle
away a predator. But if it squirts out too much water, it may not
survive to the next high tide, so PLEASE DON’T POKE THE
ANEMONES!
For more info, including the anemone’s
eating habits, see Aggregating Sea
Anemone on page 7.
RED ABALONE
Haliotis rufescens
In cracks and fissures
in the sub-tidal rocks
lives the red abalone, its
shell camouflaged with
growths of algae and
other marine organisms.
It sometimes ventures above the Sub-Tidal Zone to
the edge of the Low Tide Zone, where you may find
it partially submerged and suctioned tightly to a rock
to await the incoming tide.
10
SEA URCHIN
Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
The sea urchin is a grazing animal that
eats seaweeds. Here in the reserve, this
spiny round purple creature resides in
holes it carves out of the soft rock in pools
and along the walls of the surge channels
of the Low Tide Zone. It must wait for
the incoming tide to carry in scraps of
seaweed, which it catches with tube feet
(it is a relative of the sea star) located between its
movable spines. It then maneuvers this food around
to its mouth, located on the underside of its body. Sea
urchins living in the Sub-Tidal Zone do not make these
holes, but instead crawl along the ocean floor on their
tube feet and movable spines to graze on algae.
KELP CRAB
Pugettia producta
Hidden beneath the
thick layers of kelp and
surf grass that grow in
the Low Tide Zone lurk
well-camouflaged kelp
crabs. Colored like the
kelp they live in (and
which they also eat),
these crabs have long, spider-like legs that allow them to
move quickly from one pool of water to another during
low tide, which lets them stay cool and keeps them from
running out of oxygen.
Knowing No Bounds
Humans aren’t the only animals
that can move freely from
zone to zone of the intertidal
environment.
Birds
Gull
During your visit you may see
several species of birds on the
reef, such as black oystercatchers,
gulls, and blue herons. They take
advantage of low tides and treat
the reef like a buffet bar.
Black oystercatcher
Great Blue Heron
11
Predatory Mammals
At night, land-based mammals such as
raccoons, skunks, bobcats, and coyotes
may hunt on the reef during low tide.
Harbor Seal
Phoca vitulina
During low tide, sausage-shaped
harbor seals rest on the flat-topped
rocks on the outer fringe of the reserve.
Ranging from gray to brown in color,
some with spots, they can weigh 300
pounds, but are very shy and will swim
Harbor seal and pup
away if people come too close. They
come right up on the beach to sleep
during higher low tides. During the winter and spring females give
birth to and nurse their young here in the reserve. If you see harbor
seals, stay far back and observe them with binoculars. If you see a
baby seal alone, its mother is probably out getting food. NEVER
APPROACH A HARBOR SEAL PUP, you may cause it to be
abandoned.
Red Octopus
Octopus rubescens
Baby seal
One of the most amazing creatures found in the reserve’s intertidal
environment is the red octopus. With a golf-ball-sized body/head and eight
arms that are less than a foot long, the red octopus is very at home resting
beneath ledges, tucked between rocks, or lurking beneath tufts of seaweed.
Although it spends most of its time submerged, it is not restricted to the SubTidal Zone.
A mollusk, the octopus
can swim by squirting
water through a special
organ called a siphon,
which it directs like a
jet engine. It crawls and
climbs using its suckerstudded tentacles.
Visitors sometimes
encounter an octopus
swimming in the surge
channels of the Low
Tide Zone, or crawling
between the pools of the Mid Tide Zone and High Tide Zone in its search for
food and shelter. It’s a master of camouflage and can change color, shape, and
texture in the blink of an eye.
12
A Few More Common Tidepool Organisms
You’ll find examples of these organisms in various tide zones.
Organism
Description
IRIDESCENT
ALGAE
Iridophycus
flaccidum
The rainbow iridescence of this blade-like alga is caused by a
layer of cells just under the surface. These cells reflect the light
in this interesting way when the alga is submerged. Iridophycus
will appear olive-green in shallow waters and red to purple
when found in deeper waters.
BULL
WHIP
KELP
These massive brown algae, which grow in deep water,
are often seen washed up on the beach, in various states of
destruction. Like most large algae, they have a “holdfast”
anchored to the bottom; and the bull kelp has a long “stipe”
surmounted by a gas-filled flotation bulb. The bulb keeps the
wide, thin blades growing from it near the water surface, where
sunlight can reach them for photosynthesis.
Nereocystis
leutkeana
These deep blue hydroid colonies, only about 3 inches long,
By-theWind-Sailor sometimes wash up on the beach in large masses. These
Velella velella colonies of tiny predatory creatures called polyps drift atop the
ocean with tentacles hanging down below to catch plankton.
On top a stiff sail catches the wind, which moves large
aggregations of these relatives of jellies across vast areas of the
ocean.
MOSSY
CHITON
Mopalia
muscosa
(Chiton is pronounced ky-ton). A flat, oval mollusc
with a series of eight plates visible down its back.
Several species are found in the reserve. A girdle of
coarse hairs around the margin of the mossy chiton
gives the animal its name. It feeds on algae.
CORALINE
ALGAE
These tough pink algae come in both branching and encrusting
forms. They incorporate calcareous deposits in their tissues as
they grow, which may give them protection against some algaeeating animals, although certain species of chitons and limpets
consume them. The sun bleaches them white when they die.
BROWN
PELICAN
Pelecanus
occidentalis
Often seen soaring over the reef or skimming above the waves
on wings that span 6 to 8 feet, this massive bird has a brown
and gray body with a white head. It has a very long hooked
beak with a pouch in which it traps fish. It spots fish from high
in the air and folds its wings to plummet into the water to catch
its prey.
SEA PALM This alga, which looks like a miniature palm tree, grows on the
outer edge of the reef. It has adapted to the pounding of the surf
Postelsia
palmaeformis in the same manner that the coconut palm survives a hurricane.
Since this is an annual alga, it will only be seen on a summer
day with a low tide.
13
More to Learn
While this guide emphasizes organisms that are specially adapted to live in one tide zone, many organisms
you will encounter at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve can be found in two or more tide zones. The previous section
introduces a few of these other organisms, but some researchers believe there are more than 400 species living in
the reserve, so there is no way one short guide can mention all of them!
Scientists are still learning new information about the species we know, and even discovering new species. And
every organism mentioned in this book has other fascinating traits, beyond their adaptations to particular tide
zones, that you might want to learn more about. Here are a few examples:
•
•
•
•
The giant green anemone has an alga that lives inside its tissue; the alga supplies food and oxygen for the
anemone, and uses the anemone’s waste products as nutrients in an interesting symbiotic relationship.
The aggregating anemone can create a clone of itself —
­ a genetically identical individual — by splitting in
half, again and again and again.
The sea urchin uses its pointy spines to dig its miniature cave in the soft rock, but it also can use those spikes
to move around on the ocean floor and turn itself upright if it is ever knocked over.
The ochre sea star pries apart the shells of a mussel and sticks its stomach down inside the shells to digest the
animal inside.
You can learn more about all the organisms mentioned in this guide, and the many organisms that are not
included, from the following sources:
•
•
•
The World Wide Web, starting with the Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve web site at http://
fitzgeraldreserve.org/
By visiting places like the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, CA; the California Academy of Sciences
in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, CA; the Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz, CA; and
various Visitor Centers in northern California devoted to National Marine Sanctuaries, which you can search
for online
In a variety of books and field guides, such as those listed at http://fitzgeraldreserve.org/newffmrsite/resourcesrecommended-reading
Lessons in Conservation and Change
Prior to the reef at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve being designated as a marine life refuge, many people visited at
low tide to harvest shellfish, fin fish, seaweeds and other organisms. They carried away mussels, sea urchins, and
abalone to eat, and took buckets full of shells and sea stars to use in art projects. Fitzgerald Marine Reserve was
first protected from this type of exploitation in 1969, but even then limited amounts and types of fishing were
allowed.
Although shy harbor seals foraged for meals during
high tides, they did not begin lingering to rest on the
exposed rocks and beach until years after the passage
of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972.
Over the next four decades, reserve staff and volunteers
from the Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve educated
visitors about how to enjoy and learn from the tidepools
without harming the fish and invertebrates or disturbing
the harbor seals. One visible result of these conservation
efforts was a gradual increase in the number of harbor
seals resting on the rocks during low tide. Now dozens
of seals haul out together to rest on the rocks and beach,
female seals give birth to their pups in the reserve, and
the population continues to grow.
Seals hauled out on the rocks
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The red octopus also used to be a rarity that is now spotted regularly. The
same is true of a number of nudibranchs, very colorful sea slugs. We don’t
know whether their perceived abundance is due to conservation efforts,
environmental factors, or visitors becoming better observers. By the same
token, we don’t understand why some organisms that used to be common,
such as the leathery brick-red foot-long gumboot chiton (Cryptochiton
stelleri), are now less abundant.
Efforts to increase both our understanding and protection of the reef
continue. In 2010, the reserve was designated a Marine Protected Area
(MPA) within the Montara State Marine Reserve (SMR) under California’s
Marine Life Protection Act. It has the highest level of protection as a
designated “no-take” area.
Nudibranchs
Marine Protected Areas and You
Areas off the coast of California like Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
are designated MPAs because they have special properties
that make them good places for wildlife. Protecting an area
from fishing and other types of harvesting allows the animals
living there to grow and reproduce without interference from
humans. These growing populations eventually “spill out” into
the surrounding unprotected areas to take the place of animals
being harvested, to keep our fisheries healthy.
Since the reserve has the highest level of protection, there are
some strict rules you must follow when you visit, listed below.
Be sure to check a tide table and plan your visit for a low tide of
1.0' or lower. Move slowly and step carefully on the reef, both
for your own safety and to avoid crushing organisms underfoot.
Look closely and watch patiently; often the longer you spend at
one spot, the more you begin to see. Many intertidal animals are
very sensitive to movement or change in light and shadow and
will retreat or hide when you approach, but when you remain
still they recover and go about their lives for you to observe.
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It is unlawful to injure, damage, take or possess any living, geological or cultural marine
resource, except under a scientific collecting permit or authorized research, restoration, or
monitoring.
No natural materials — including animals, plants, algae, shells, rocks, sand, and wood —
may be removed, and no fishing is permitted within Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and the
larger Montara State Marine Reserve.
Do not take buckets or nets out onto the reef and do not transfer organisms into containers,
even just to observe them.
Do not remove any life from tidepools or channels, and do not rip plants or animals from
the rocks. Do not turn over rocks.
Dogs and other pets are not permitted in Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.
Smoking is prohibited.
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